Page 5 - The Wayne Dispatch

Police add two new officers increase man power

By Carolyn Marnon recruiting law enforcement officers. I’ve been coming here for 21 years,
Two new police officers for Wayne According to a 2019 report put and it’s still a great place to work. We
were sworn in during the online out by the Police Executive Research treat people with respect.”
Zoom city council meeting on July Forum, “The Workforce Crisis, and Chief Strong has announced that
21. What Police Agencies are Doing Wayne’s police department now has
Ryan Caprathe from Farmington About it,” recruitment challenges are 24 officers with two more currently
Hills has always wanted to be a po- many. The number of people apply- attending the police academy. When
lice officer since a very young age. He ing for open positions has declined. the two graduate, if all stays the
enjoys helping people. Being a police To find qualified applicants from same with current staffing levels, the
officer gives him the opportunity to those fewer applications is a chal- department will have hit that magic
answer the call to help people on Officer Officer lenge. number of 26 they have long strived
their worst days or on their best Wayne Police Lt. Finley Carter is for.
days. “I chose Wayne because it is a Ryan Caprathe Adrian Ljalevic in charge of recruitment at Wayne “I want to welcome Officer
smaller department. I’ve always small tightknit community the de- PD. He and Police Chief Ryan Strong Caprathe and Officer Ljalijevic to the
liked working with a group of people partment had and was grateful for have been getting themselves and the City of Wayne. The department has
I can get to know rather than a big the sponsorship it provided him to department out in the community. been working hard on recruiting ef-
station where you don’t know every- attend the police academy. They have visited every police acad- forts and I am pleased to see the in-
one.” It’s important to Officer Officers Ljalevic and Caprathe re- emy in Michigan’s lower peninsula terest in the Wayne Police
Caprathe to get to know people per- cently graduated from the Wayne and appeared at career fairs. They Department growing. It has always
sonally. County Regional Police Academy. have tried to focus on the local police been a priority of mine to increase
Adrian Ljalevic from Dearborn They will begin their Field Training academies, the closest of which is in the number of Police Officers and we
has always enjoyed helping others; Program at the Wayne Police Depart- Livonia. They’ll take a younger offi- are finally moving in the right direc-
he served as a mentor in high school. ment soon. cer with them who is fresh out of the tion. The safety of this community is
He was working in the Dearborn dis- Wayne Police Department has academy to share their real-world ex- a top priority, “said Mayor John
patch center when Wayne merged struggled for several years to fill the perience with the Wayne PD. “The Rhaesa. The Mayor also added that
into that center. He found the staff in 26 officer positions the department key is just to try to get ourselves out this is the highest number of police
Wayne were always kind and profes- has been budgeted for. Wayne is not there,” said Chief Strong. “Let people officers the department has had in
sional with him. He enjoyed the the only city that has had difficulty know we treat our employees well. nearly a decade.

The Wayne Dispatch · August 2020 · 5